Annual rent growth on new lets across Great Britain doubled from 0.5% in February to 1% last month, Hamptons' March lettings index reveals.
Inner London delivered the best performance, with rents up 4.1% year-on-year, reversing a decline that had persisted since the start of 2025.
Across Great Britain, excluding London, the average new let now stands at £1,134 a month, with renewals at £1,071, up 4.6% on the year.
Meanwhile, tenant demand surged 24% annually in March, with every region of Great Britain recording a double-digit rise.
Renters’ Rights Act pressure
Aneisha Beveridge, the head of research at Hamptons, said: "While rents fell last year, early signs suggest the pace of rental growth is beginning to pick up as tenant demand rebounds and mortgage rates rise.
"The falls recorded in 2025 have already been wiped out, while the 24% annual increase in tenants starting the search for a new home in March was the largest since our records began."
She added: "While stronger rental growth may help landlords balance the books over the medium to long term, mortgage stress tests mean they must also remain profitable in the short term, even at higher rates.
"For many, that means keeping mortgage payments at an affordable share of the rent, whether by paying down debt or moving over to interest-only deals with lower monthly costs."
Regional rent rises
Regionally, the data lays bare a market of stark contrasts as inner London commands the highest average new let rent at £2,733, more than three times the £823 recorded in the North East.
However, it is the one region where renewal rents have fallen, down 1.5% to £2,616.
Outside the capital, the North West posted the strongest renewal growth in the table at 6.6%, taking average renewal rents to £944.
The East of England and South West both saw renewal increases above 5% despite near-flat growth on new lets.
Supply still under pressure
Available rental stock remained tight in March, Hamptons adds, with 1% fewer homes on the market than a year earlier and 33% less than in March 2019.
Competitive bidding has also eased and just 6% of homes in the first quarter of 2026 were let above asking price, against 56% in the same period of 2021.
March was also the penultimate month before the implementation of the Renters' Rights Act which restricts landlords in England from accepting offers above advertised rents.
ONS data backs the trend
Separate new rent price figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this week reinforce the Hamptons picture.
It revealed the average UK monthly private rents have risen 3.4% to £1,377 in the 12 months to March.
England saw rents reach £1,434, a 3.4% increase, while Wales recorded a steeper 4.8% rise to £830 and Scotland a 2.1% increase to £1,022.
Northern Ireland rents climbed 5.0% to £880 in the year to January 2026.
In England, the North East posted the highest private rent inflation at 6.5%, with London the lowest at 1.7%.
The ONS also reports that the average house prices edged up 1.2% to £268,000 in the 12 months to February, with England at £290,000, Wales £210,000 and Scotland £187,000.
Landlords need to price well
Simon Thompson, the managing director of Accommodation for Students, said: "Tenant demand is at a record high, yet the pool of available homes has shrunk by a third since 2019, and that imbalance is starting to push rents upward again after a difficult year.
"Hamptons figures show annual growth on newly let properties across Great Britain has doubled in a month, with inner London driving much of that recovery."
He added: "Renewal increases are climbing too, which matters for landlords with existing tenancies.
"The Renters' Rights Act is almost here, and those landlords who set rents cautiously currently may find themselves well below where the market would otherwise settle."
